Penny Whistle Travel

Penny Whistle Travel is a Christian based travel agency specializing in coordinating group tours to the Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Group travel is an exciting and economical way to see the sights, make lifelong friends and memories, and even discover your heritage. 

The pre-planning is all handled for you. You won't have to build an itinerary, search (and hope) for nice hotels and restaurants, or arrange transportation. There are thousands of details that you won't have to manage. Denise also oversees all of the day-to-day logistics to ensure a fun and enriching journey. You can focus on taking it all in, without any of the stress! There is really no better way to experience a new country.

The Celtic nations are rich with historical accounts of the mighty acts of God.  At Penny Whistle Travel our goal is not only to see the sights, but to explore the places of His past miracles and to encounter God through the wonder of His creation.  No place on Earth can rival the beauty of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.  Come and experience it. Come and be changed.  Come and have the time of your life with Ray & Denise Hughes at Penny Whistle Travel!

Please look at our upcoming tours to see if there is a trip that is right for you. To plan a custom group tour, contact Denise Hughes here.

Ray Hughes, Tour Historian & Storyteller 

My name is Ray. I am a poet and a musician. I’m a songwriter, a storyteller, and a son of a Kentucky well-digger. 2016 marks my 45th year of traveling the world in ministry as a speaker/teacher and 39 of those years I have been married to my sweetie. 

I first felt the draw to the Celtic nations in the early 90’s. Our first trip was one of the most wonderful things that has ever happened in our lives. It was the beginning of an encyclopedia of stories; stories of people and places that have shaped who we are and have given us some of the most cherished memories of our life.   

I’ve invested a significant part of my life studying the wondrous history of these beautiful lands. I have immersed myself in the music and folklore, and studied the lives of their saints and scholars. I have come to know their heroes and poets on a very profound and personal level. 

To me the definition of a story-teller is a guardian of memories. I believe it to be a biblical mandate to do just that. In honoring the past, God enables us to properly embrace the future. In days past these Celtic lands have had an enormous impact and influence on the world through their music and literature and their export of substantial world leaders and culture shapers. Yes, these lands have produced literary giants, scholars and inventors, as well as some of the most wide reaching and powerful revivals and revivalists in Christian history. I truly understand the significant weightiness of all of those and value them deeply.  

But, when I lay down at night I don’t rehearse how many of our American presidents carried Irish blood or how many signers of our Declaration of Independence were Welsh. I remember the face of an old man on the streets of Galway. I remember how the sun fell through the clouds and crowned Snowdon with a rainbow that reached all the way to the Brecon Beacons. I remember rocky shores and gentle smiles and umbrellas disappearing in windy flight. I remember the prayers of gratitude and the tears of those who found the names of relatives engraved on ancient stones. I think of those who came home and told stories that will become family heirlooms. 

I go to sleep remembering places that welcome strangers to their shores and send them away richer with life. I remember that places that do these things are special to God’s heart and mine. That’s how I go to sleep at night. And yes, I honestly love Wales and Ireland and Scotland that much. I truly hope that I will have an opportunity to be there when you see them. 

Denise Hughes, Tour Guide

Hi! I’m Denise Hughes. Also known as “Ray’s wife”. A title I proudly answer to! As you can imagine, it has been quite a wonderful adventure being married to a man as funny, sentimental, prophetic, talented, and creative as Ray.

I am an artist and a student of the Bible, just like my father. I was raised in the ministry and then married a minister when I was only 18. We raised three amazing children and now have five even more amazing grandchildren. 

When Ray began having dreams many years ago about going to the “land of his fathers”, I had no idea that it was opening up such a life defining path for us. Over the last 20 years we have gone to Wales, Ireland, and Scotland more than 30 times. We’ve taken various worship teams, prayer groups, missions teams and guided tour groups. Each time we go, something significant and eternal takes place in our lives and in the hearts of the people traveling with us. 

This is why Penny Whistle Travel was born. I love to see my husband come alive as he steps onto that land and more fully into who he was created to be. His creative and prophetic senses are heightened and all of the people who travel with us are awakened to new levels of life and purpose. They have a renewed and intense sense of connection with their pasts and their futures. It is absolutely amazing to watch and such an honor to help facilitate. 

As the Tour Guide, I work very hard to make sure that everyone is well taken care of on these tours. I know that traveling, while fun and exhilarating, can also be rigorous and exhausting. All of the administrative details are finalized well in advance so that you, as a traveler, have only to focus on enjoying and engaging in the life changing experience at hand. 

If there is something in your heart that is calling you to visit and encounter God in one of these nations, please consider traveling with us. It would bring us both such great joy to host you on one of these life changing journeys.